Edson Area Update

A FIRE BAN and OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLE RESTRICTION is in effect for the Forest Protection Area of Alberta, including the Edson Forest Area. 

Do not fly drones in an area of active wildfire. Drones halt air operations and we will have to wait for the airspace to be clear. Drones can endanger our aircraft and crews that are needed to work on the wildfire.

For previous Edson Forest Area Updates - Click here

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Assistance from the U.S Forest Service has arrived and is now in place on the Deep Creek Complex. A special agreement has been in place for many many years, sharing highly trained resources and supporting each other. (May 16, 2023)

GENERAL INFORMATION ON WILDFIRES IN OUR AREA

The forecast is calling for same but slightly lower temperatures in the mid to high 20s, winds at times gusty, and low relative humidity for the next few days. These conditions are likely to cause elevated wildfire danger and same or increased wildfire behaviour that we've experienced in the past few days, which will be challenging to wildfire operations within the Edson Forest Area.

Firefighters, aircraft, and heavy equipment have been working in conjunction with county and municipal firefighting services as aggressively as possible to make progress on these wildfires while the conditions have been favorable. Despite all of this hard work, there are still hundreds of kilometers of uncontained wildfire perimeter and fire behaviour forecasts indicate that there will be growth on many of the wildfires throughout the region.

Smoke will be heavy today in the areas of Wildwood, Lobstick, Hansonville, Evansburg and Entwistle. Lingering smoke will be seen along highway 16 and highway 22 and in affected communities. A smoke inversion happens when cooler air is trapped near the ground by a layer of warmer air above it and the inversion will keep smoke close the ground level. Smoke inversions can cause dangerous driving conditions and impact nearby communities. 

While we always appreciate people calling in to report wildfires, the large volume of calls we are currently receiving is diverting our resources away from other essential tasks. As always, please still call 310-FIRE if you see smoke or flame that looks new and potentially unreported, but assume that large columns of smoke and burned over areas have already been detected and reported. Thank you!

These wildfires remain under investigation. To learn more about wildfire classifications, click here. 

ACTIVE WILDFIRES

PEMBINA WILDFIRE COMPLEX - EWF031/039, RWF034/040

EWF031 was detected on May 4 and is located 25 km west of Lodgepole, 20 km northwest of Brazeau Dam and 14 km southeast of Edson. The fire is classified as out of control and is estimated to be 82,666 ha in size. No significant growth has been observed since May 7, 2023.

There are 81 firefighters and support staff being shared between this fire and EWF039.  There are 32 pieces of heavy equipment, and eight helicopters assigned to the complex. An increase in smoke in the area from Northern Alberta and B.C. will impact aerial operations due to poor visibility.

Ground crews were conducting small scale ground ignitions on the far western tip of the south flanks yesterday. The purpose of this burn is to remove remaining fuel in between the fire perimeter and the planned containment lines in a controlled manner. The burn was successfully completed yesterday, and future ignition opportunities will only occur if favourable conditions are available.

Today, crews are still positioned along the northwest area of the fire on both sides of the finger, which is the closest perimeter to the Town of Edson approximately 14 km away.  They are working to secure wet line around this section of the fire. Wet line is defined as a line of water, or water and chemical retardant, sprayed along the ground, which serves as a temporary control line from which to ignite or stop a low-intensity fire. Another group of crews is working on south side of the northwest corner and will continue working towards the south. Heavy equipment is still making great progress towards completion of the containment lines from the Repsol Road working east past Wolf Lake Road.

A cold front arrived early this morning bringing gusts up to 40 km/h from the northwest. The wind will shift out of the north around noon with gusts of 30-35 km/h in the afternoon. Winds blowing out of the northwest are expected to bring extreme fire behavior to the southern side of the fire. Weather conditions on the complex remain hot and dry. 

Cooler temperatures arrive Tuesday, but extreme fire behavior will persist.

EWF039 located near Carrot Creek, is currently being held. The fire is currently estimated to be 216 ha. The fire is fully wrapped in containment line and is a kilometer away from the Carrot Creek lookout tower. Crews have successfully left the area and will be repositioned on fire EWF031. Personnel are continuing to monitor the area available to respond if necessary.

RWF034 Crews are utilizing direct attack along the south flank on established containment line. In addition mop up and hot spotting is occurring near and within the O’Chiese Reserve. On the north flank, crews are hotspotting and gridding to detect any remaining activity in this area in order to establish containment lines. One hot-spot was detected in a small green area, south of the staging area. It was quickly actioned and extinguished.  O’Chiese fire crews continue to watch the community zone and areas around the Truck Stop. There are 76 firefighters and support staff working on this fire. There are six helicopters assigned to the complex. In addition, there are 20 pieces of heavy equipment.

RWF040 is located 6 km northeast of the Forestry Trunk Road and Brown Creek Provincial Recreational Area and is classified as out of control. There are 76 firefighters and support staff shared between this fire and RWF034. The fire is currently estimated to be 2,200 ha in size.

If you have any questions or concerns about the PEMBINA COMPLEX please call the Wildfire Information Officer Sarah Hall at 250-318-8375.

Crews working on RWF-034 which is part of the Pembina Wildfire Complex (May 16, 2023)

Ignition operations were successfully completed today on the Pembina Complex (May 15, 2023)

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DEEP CREEK WILDFIRE COMPLEX – EWF035, WCU001 & WCU002 

An incident management team from the U.S Forest Service along with many of their firefighters have arrived over the past two days and relieved our Alberta Wildfire team. The AB Wildfire team will rest and re-assemble to be deployed again later in the week at one of the many wildfire complexes that the province is currently managing. We want to thank our American friends for coming to assist us. A special arrangement has been in place for many years between Canada and the U.S, we share highly trained resources and send them where needed.

WCU001 was detected on April 29 and is classified as out of control. The wildfire remains at 7,281 ha in size, no new growth was recorded again yesterday and it has seen very limited new growth in the past few days. The wildfire zone is located southeast of Entwistle and west over the Pembina River where it spread north and travelled over Highway 16. The wildfire is parallel with Highway 16 and moved further west where the wildfire spread just north of Wildwood and now rests at Chip Lake. 

Tomorrow, crews will work north of Wildwood and work their way east along Highway 16 extinguishing hotspots burning in deep peat. Wildfire crews are working in a heavily peated area just south of WCU001 but it is still within the perimeter.  Firefighters expect moderate fire behaviour, less then previous days thanks to the cold front which will bring lower temperatures. The smoke will also help chock out the fire and keep fire behaviour down. Highway 16 will experience smoke from the active wildfire zone due to the hotspots near the highway. There will be smoke north of Wildwood as crews work to extinguish a major hotspot area. 

Today, we will have aircraft monitoring for flare-ups from above and they will report back to the ground crews to ensure that they stay within the already burned-out area to prevent spread. Many of the fuels that are burning off in the wildfire interior area are green trees within the burnt over zone that didn’t initially burn. Airtankers are available as requested. Alberta Wildfire is assisting Parkland County and Yellowhead County with this wildfire. 

WCU002 was detected on the evening of April 29 and is a mutual aid wildfire located on both sides of Highway 22, north of Highway 16. The wildfire is currently burning out of control. The wildfire is estimated to be 2,400 ha in size, no new growth was detected today.

Today, smoke will be very visible to residents in the area which is being produced from the interior of the fire. These areas of unburnt fuel are surrounded by burned out areas and are within the perimeter boundary. The smoke is a benefit, dampening the wildfire behaviour but can cause health concerns. If you're experiencing smoke related health concerns, you can contact AB 811. Smoke will linger along Highway 16 as crews work to extinguish hotspots. The wildfire has stayed south of Township Road 550 and east of Range Road 92 and west of Range Road 75. Alberta Wildfire and Yellowhead County are actioning this wildfire. 

EWF035 was detected on May 5 and is located 3 km east of Shining Bank. This wildfire is classified as out of control and estimated to be 5,951 ha in size. There was recorded growth to the south of the fire and a new perimeter will be assessed. Firefighters expect moderate growth on the south of the fire again today. The wildfire is south of Township Road 570, west of Range Road 123, north of Township Road 560 and east of Shining Bank Lake.

There are crews and heavy equipment allocated to the wildfire and they're working to establish containment lines to prevent further spread into rural properties. Today, groups of heavy equipment will continue working along the southeast side of the perimeter to create additional fire breaks. Crews and helicopters will work to extinguish larger hotspots on the north boundary line tomorrow as they flare-up and create smoke. 

Wildland firefighters expect growth to occur on the south-southeast of the fire perimeter of EWF035 potentially overnight and through the day tomorrow.

Aircraft will continue to report heightened wildfire activity areas to the ground and resources will work on those priority areas.

Yellowhead County put an evacuation order in place for residences South of EWF-035 May 15 at 20:00 yesterday in anticipation of fire spread to the South.

Yellowhead County has reported that structural protection crews have been initiating their system over the last several days and are now prepared to action approximately 100 homes. Special flagging of different colours marked ‘SPU’ are set up on these properties to help firefighters identify operations for that property. This is to identify the placement of pumps and structural protection sprinklers. Please do not remove the flagging. Woodlands County and the Whitecourt Fire Department have also installed sprinkler protection on houses in the immediate area of EWF035 and will continue to monitor the situation as it continues. Woodlands County has strategically placed staff for night watch on EWF-035 to monitor for fire activity after dark. Alberta Wildfire is assisting Yellowhead County and Woodlands County with this wildfire. 

Yellowhead County asks that you do not remove flagging tape set up for structure protection equipment. (May 15, 2023) 

The Deep Creek Complex has a total of 44 firefighters plus 19 incident management firefighters working with 27 pieces of heavy equipment on this complex. Additionally, eight helicopters are assisting the wildfire with assessments and performing bucket operations on the complex.  

Today the temperatures remained in the mid to high 20's with winds expected out of the north-northwest at 15-20 km/h gusting to 25 km/h which will push the fires towards the south. 

We encourage anyone who suspects a wildfire that is not indicated on our app to report it to 310-FIRE.

If you have any questions or concerns about the DEEP CREEK COMPLEX please call the Wildfire Information Officer - Caroline Charbonneau at 780-740-1341.

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WILD HAY WILDFIRE COMPLEX - EWF037 and EWF040

There are multiple wildfires located south of the Little Smoky River, north of the Wild Hay River and east of Hwy 40 north. These also include the areas near the Willow Haul road and the Jack Wright road north of Hinton. These wildfires were formerly reported as five separate fires, but due to more accurate GPS measuring, have been determined to be two larger fires. EWF037 is out of control at 578 ha and EWF040 is out of control at 684 ha.

There was an increase in fire activity observed on the Wild Hay Wildfire Complex yesterday but no perimeter growth was reported overnight.  Crews and equipment will continue working towards containing this fire activity within the fire perimeter and to limit fire spread to the south.

There are 3 helicopters, 6 pieces of heavy equipment and 4 wildfire personnel working on this fire today. 

 

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PUBLIC WILDFIRE MAPS

Edson Forest Area Overview Map - May 14, 2023 - public map - Click here.

Deep Creek Wildfire Complex (EWF-035, WCU002 and WCU001) May 10th, 2023 - public map - Click here.

Pembina Wildfire Complex (EWF031, EWF039, RWF034, RWF040) May 9, 2023 - public map - Click here.

EWF035 Wildfire May 10, 2023 - public map - Click here. 

Note: The wildfire perimeter map is an estimate based on measurements such as GPS, aerial scanning and satellite imagery. This estimated perimeter can change as more accurate measurements become available. Areas within the fire perimeter may not have been affected by wildfire. 

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WILDFIRE LINKS AND TOOLS

Visit our Wildfire Dashboard to view active wildfires and their stats on the wildfire dashboard. 

There are multiple EVACUATION ORDERS & ALERTS in the Province. Please visit Alberta Emergency Alerts or your community webpage for more information.

For road closure information, please visit: https://511.alberta.ca/#:Alerts 

The NASA FIRMS Fire Information website is a great resource to give an idea of the location of wildfires in the area, but it should be noted that this data is based on interpolation and often can make a wildfire appear larger than it actually is.

Wildfire smoke is a tool used for the location of smoke firesmoke.ca

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PROVINCIAL STATE OF EMERGENCY

Hot, dry conditions continue in most areas of the province resulting in numerous wildfires. A provincial state of emergency has been declared. Albertans who require assistance can call 310-4455 for wildfire related information - Click here. 

DO NOT FLY DRONES NEAR WILDFIRES!

The use of recreational drones over wildfires in Alberta is dangerous, illegal and could result in a fine of up to $15,000* for putting aircraft and people at risk. Please give Alberta firefighters the space they need to do their jobs safely.

*Transport Canada

VOLUNTEER INFORMATION

Volunteers, equipment owners/operators or firefighters looking to assist with these wildfires or any of the wildfires within the province, please contact EmergencySupportOffers@gov.ab.ca. Please do not contact Edson Forest Area logistics directly, as they are extremely busy supporting the wildfire situation in the area. Thank you.

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COMMUNITY EMERGENCY INFORMATION | EVACUATIONS

A MESSAGE FROM THE MUNICIPALITIES

If you are evacuating, gather important documents, medication, and enough food and water to be away from home for at least 3 days. Take pets with you.

For updates from Yellowhead County and Town of Edson, please visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/yellowheadcounty  or www.yhcounty.ca for updates. Evacuees can call 1-833-334-4630 for more information.

For updates from Parkland County, please visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ParklandCountyAB. Residents in the affected areas can contact the Emergency Information Line at 1-780-968-8888.

For residents with health concerns related to smoke you can find the air quality map here: https://www.alberta.ca/about-the-air-quality-health-index.aspx. If you have smoke related health concerns, please contact AB 811 and click here for more information.

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WE URGE RESIDENTS AND RECREATIONALISTS TO USE EXTRA CAUTION

Due to the current dry grass, warm weather and possible windy conditions, there is an increased risk of wildfires in the Edson Forest Area. We urge residents and visitors to exercise caution and take the following precautions:

• Do not start any fires or use open flames in areas that are susceptible to catching fire, such as near dry vegetation like grass or wooded areas.
• Dispose of cigarettes and other smoking materials properly, do not throw them on the ground.
• If you see a wildfire, immediately call 310-FIRE (3473) and report the location of the fire.
• Avoid using equipment that could generate sparks, friction or flames, such as power tools or lawn mowers, in areas with dry vegetation.
• Ensure grinders and welders are properly maintained and used in areas that are free from dry vegetation. Have sufficient water and tools on hand. Always keep watch of your surroundings and look around at regular intervals for smoke or flames that may have been accidently ignited.

We encourage everyone to stay informed about the current wildfire risk and to follow any guidance or orders from emergency personnel. By working together and taking proactive steps, we can help reduce the risk of wildfires in our community.

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WILDFIRE PREVENTION TIPS

Albertans are always asked to use caution when working or recreating in the outdoors:

• Before you burn it, get your fire permit. Fire permits in Alberta.
• Clear debris from hot spots on your off-highway vehicle.
• Ensure your campfire is out - soak it, stir it, soak it again. 
• Before you head out this weekend, check out the albertafirebans.ca website or download the app to stay informed.